Do you remember your first dive off the high diving board? How quickly it brought you under but how much you had to push your way back to the top. Your lungs felt like they were caving in. You felt the burning of chlorinated water in your nose. But you kept pushing with all your might to reach the surface.
I often think of this analogy when things get tough. We work so hard to make life happy, but there’s always something that makes us push to the surface. We can’t always shine bright like a diamond. We can’t always feel happy in the moment. But what we can do is find overall happiness by choosing to be happy.
I get a laugh when people make statements to me like “You’re not happy”, “You sound so depressed on Facebook”, and the best one is “Are you OK?” Of course I am. I have had so many struggles in my life that one or two or a dozen more won’t thwart my efforts to be internally happy with myself.
It has been said that the majority of world renowned comedians are the most depressed people in the world. I can well believe it. Bottomline, there are some people in this world that screams out their anxiety and moves forward. That’s me! Facebook and Twitter makes it so damn easy. (I don’t follow step 6 very well when I have to deal with bullying)
In the midst of all the turmoil, I am not hurting anyone, I am not cheating on someone’s trust, and I’m trying each and every moment to find the lesson to the problem that I am facing. Overall, I am happy even in despair.
I can only hope and pray that I’ve instilled the same thought process to my kids. It’s a very hard world out there and choosing to be happy is a good step in seeing past the grey of troubled situations.
Happiness is a choice. Go forward, be strong, and do what makes you happy once (or even more) a day.
